Word spread through the village within days. A local historian arrived with a notebook and a camera, kneeling respectfully before the exposed cavity. “These hiding places were built under terrible pressure,” she explained. “People bricked them over after the war, wanting to forget. You’ve given them back their story.”
Local papers ran a short piece: Hidden Wartime Refuge Found in Village Home. Reporters asked Lucy if she’d been afraid. She shook her head. “Not after I understood,” she said. The tapping had stopped entirely after the wall came down, replaced by the steady hum of normal house sounds.